hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." taiwan's defense ministry says chinese military aircraft crossed the median line of the taiwan strait friday. it comes amid the taiwanese president's overseas trip. it'll reportedly include a

meeting with the top politician over which china warned would spur a response. president tsai ing-wen made a speech at a closed door event thursday night. it was hosted by the hudson institute think tank. she was presented with the global leadership award. the group says she has led with courage and determination to resist tyranny and maintain a free and open endo pacific. she's headedo guatemala and belize next. tsai is reportedly planning to meet with u.s. house speaker kevin mccarthy during one of the stop overs in the country. beijing said contact between the two would undermine china's sovereignty. it said it would take counter measures if the meeting happened. taiwan's defense ministry says nine chinese military aircraft

flew over the taiwan strait at around noon on friday. the planes crossed the northern, ntral, and southern medn line for combat patrol. the ministry said taiwan's armed forces monitored the planes without escalating the situation. the head of the european commission says the continent needs to reduce risks with its relations with china. she said friday beijing is strengthening its ties with moscow, and that's part of a bigger objective. >> china has been ramping up its military posture. it has also ramped up its policies of disinformation and economic and trade coercion. the chinese communist party's clear goal is a systemic change of international order with china at its center. >> but she says decoupling from

china is neither viable nor in europe's interest. she says diplomatic stability and open communication with beijing are important. she's set to visit china next week with french president emmanuel macron to meet their counterpart. she says the trip is part of derisking efforts. she says the commission is also looking at if and how europe should develop measures to control outbound investment regarding sensitive technologies. vau she said investment in these technologies can lead to the development of military capabilities that pose national security risks. as fighting continues to rage in eastern ukraine, u.s. officials say they've sanctioned a man accused of trying to arrange the sale of north korean weapons to russia. the treasury department says the

individual is a slovakian national who worked with pyeongyang between the end of last year and early 2023. he allegedly attempted to obtain over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions for russia. they were to be given in exchange for commercial aircraft, raw materials and other commodities for the north. white house national security council spokesperson john kirby said any arms deal between north korea and russia would violate u.s. security council resolution. the developments come as fighting continues to rage in the eastern ukrainian city of bakhmut. the country's armed forces say they're holding out against russian attacks. president volodymyr zelenskyy indicated in an ierview on tuesday that his country would continue to fight for the city. he said that any russian victory would embolden moscow. china's economy has been struggling in the wake of the

country's zero-covid policy. local government debts are mounting posing a risk to the financial system. as we see in this next report a key factor is the slumping real estate market, which provides an important source of revenue. >> reporter: over 4 million people live in the inland city. it was reported in january that the state owned company that overseas public works for the city government had defaulted. the main reason was said to be a drop in land use fees paid by real estate developers. this is after the central government and beijing imposed restrictions three years ago to cool the overheated real estate market. the pandemic came as another blow to an industry that was already hurting. >> translator: too many

apartments have been built. no one is buying. >> reporter: a project to build more than a hundred high rise condo towers in the suburbs has run into financial trouble. it's not clear when the project will be completed. >> translator: the developer says they have the funds, but i worry about getting my apartment. i've spent thousands of dollars so i'm really worried. >> reporter: one city is even said to have gone effectively bankrupt. it used to be a prosperous coal mining town, but the city's finances have crumbled and stopped hiring city officials. local media say the city's emphasis has ballooned 65 times than what it was 20 years ago. real estate prices have collapsed. property ads can be seen

everywhere. these new condo units of more than 80 square meters sell for about $6,000. the seller says he can get what he wants for his unit. >> translator: some are under $4,500. i can't expect any price rise so i'll sell it. >> reporter: it used to have a population over a million people but has fallen over the past ten years. young people are moving away for better lives elsewhere. this 24-year-old woman works at a restaurant for about $450 a month. she lives in an apartment her grandmother left her when she passed away. she keeps her monthly expenses to about $150 and saves the rest. she says she wants to move to a big city in the south.

>> half of my classmates went to university and have already left my hometown. i think it's better for those who want to change the situation even a little to go somewhere else. >> reporter: china's reliance on real estate to drive its economic growth seems to have reached its limit. local governments are piling on debt with consequences for the future of china's in major league baseball japanese star ohtani shohei came out strong in the season opener for the los angeles angel. he his team lost to the oakland athletics. it was the second year in a row ohtani was the starting pitcher and the angels opener. he also batted third in the line-up as the designated

hitter. ohtani used his breaking balls effectively to shutout the first three innings. he gave up his first hit in the fourth, but despite allowing runners on base, he struck out two in a row. he retired the last batter with the day's fastest pitch clocking just over 162 kilometers per hour. ohtani went 1 for 3 at the plate drawing one walk. one single run in the late inning but the athletics found an opening in the eight to win the game 2-1. ohtani who's the mvp in the world baseball classic failed to earn his first win of the season. a new website featuring news and documentary films of japan in the early 20th century has been launched. the website hosted by the national film archive of japan and the national institute went live on friday. it offers a collectionf 87

films produd from 04 to 1937. e ahive incde 13 minutes of foota sho by a british filmmake who w emddedith theapane milary during the japane w. it sws japese troopeadi e fht in northeast china i 19. anotr 40-miteilm proced in 24 feature the then crown prince visits to the shrine and imperial pau imperial mausoleums. >> i want many people to access the website and discover the cultural and historic lue of >> the natnal film archive of japan possesses nearly 50,000 cultural and documentary motion picture films produced in the country. it plans to upload more to the website including those made

after world war ii. members of a performance group in brazil have devoted themselves to an ancient japanese ceremonial dance. one of them is trying to carry on the tradition by going to the source. nhk world has her story. >> reporter: it's the music and dance ritual traditionally performed to the japanese gods for a bountiful harvest. in order to learn its complex movements and techniques three people from brazil visited the city in hiroshima prefecture. among them is a member of the brazil troop founded about 50 years ago by japanese immigrants mainly from hiroshima and shimane prefectures. >> translator: in brazil there

are now other ckagura troops to study for reference. trying to learn there is not easy. >> reporter: in japan mihara received guidance before taking part in a performance. rehearsing in japan she wore a costume weighing 20 kilograms and practiced as if it were a real performance. she plays the role she held the oni staff in her hand and slammed it on the floor in a powerful show of strength. miahara practiced this move over and over again so her body would remember it until her fingers

hurt. >> translator: it's difficult. i need to express a sense of strength and anger. i have to convey that >> translator: be confident. we'll manage. it'll be okay. >> reporter: it's the day of the real performance. miyahara plays her oni role with such vivid intensity that she no longer feels the pain in her fingers.

>> translator: thank you. it was great. the ending was the best. i was really impressed. >> translator: i was nervous, but i was also bursting with all kinds of emotions. and it was really fun. >> reporter: from akitakata to sao paolo, she hopes to share what she learned in japan and preserve this ritual for future generations. nhk world, hiroshima. it's time for a check on the weather with our meteorologist sayau sayaka mori. some places are bringing back spring festivals. >> hello there. it's the best season to come to japan. much of japan is enjoying the cherry blossom season. for much of the eastern half of the nation it season came the

earliest on record. today full bloom was declared in sendai. that was 13 days earlierthen normal and the earliest in recorded history, and a festival is taking place here sendai. take a look at this vid. after a four-year hiatus a park in miyagi prefecture began its cherry blossom festival on friday. about 1,200 trees line along the river with it blooming on monday, the earliest on record. the spot averages about 200,000 tourists during the season. the festival will continue april 13th. in tokyo thanks to less windy conditions flowers are still attached to the trees, and this weekend is going to be the last chance to enjoy the flu flower viewing. 22 for the high on saturday, nice, gorgeous weather, more like early may. sunny weather will continue into next week and temperatures will

be above normal into april. now, according to the japan meteorological agency this month could be written in the history books as the warmest march bringing wintery weather to the north. we have a blizzard warning in place to the dakotas and also an ice storm warning for south dakota as well as minnesota. black ice could lead to treacherous driving conditions and along the frontal system we'll likely see widespread rainfall look with severe thunderstorms especially on the mississippi river valley, there's a chance for severe thunderstorms including tornados, large hail, as well as damaging winds. going to be a hot day in hughes, 29 is the forecast. chicago 19 degrees for the high. that's it for me. stay safe.

that's all for this hour on nhk "newsline." thanks for watching and do stay with us for more. ♪ this is news line biz. i'm gene otani. the united kingdom has taken a step towards joining the comprehensive and progressive agreement for transpacific partnership or cptpp. the 11 current members have reached a broad agreement at the ministerial level.

japanese economic revitalization minister says he and his counter parts met online. they are from australia, canada, and countries in the asia pacific. >> translator: i think this is very significant to further promote the principles of free trade, an open and competitive market, a rules based trade system, and economic integration beyond the pacific rim. >> the cptpp took effect in 2018. the pact removes tariffs while encouraging investment and services. it also sets common rules across a wide range of areas such as intellectual property and ecommerce. the u.k. will be the first new signatory following the original 11. london applied to join the pact in 2021, a year after it left the european union. the members will account for 15% of the world's gdp when the u.k.

joins. that's up from 13% in 2019. for more we spoke with a professor at tokyo's university and an expert on the world trade system. we asked him how the inclusion of the u.k. will affect a pact that has been limited to the asia pacific region. >>ranslator: in terms of gdp itain will be the second largest ctppp member after japan and the largest in terms of population after japan. juographically speaking it will be the first european nation to join. after the ukraine crisis people began to say the security of europe and the security of the indo pacific region were in consideration. connecting and enhancing the supply chains of both regions

should be quite significant for japan's economic security as well. >> the professor says china also wants to join the pact. he says britain's participation will be important in this regard. the u.k. has the same market economy and rule of law as the current members. the cptpp will be able to increasingly insist that china comply with their rules. translator: china wants to join the pact with the aim of fundamentally altering the u.s. led trade order in the endo pacific region, but china has a so-called capitalism system and the government's role in the market is huge. that will make it very difficult for china to adapt to the cptpp les whi demand open markets and deregulation.

it seems to me it took quite a long time for britain to join, and i suspect other experts and government officialseel the same way. when it comes to dealing with china some people say it could take ten years. japan is tightening export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment. other countries are taking similar measures due to growing concerns over security. exports of such equipment to china will face stricter procedures than the 42 listed countries and territories including the u.s., south korea, and taiwan. the restrictions will go into effect in july and will cover 23 items. exports to china or other destinations not on the white list will need the approval of the trade minister each time. >> translator: this measure is aimed at preventing technology from being diverted to military

use. we want to fulfill our responsibilities to the international community as a country with advanced technology and we want to contribute to international peace and security. >> the u.s. has already strengthened export restrictions to china. it has been calling for similar steps by other countries especially japan, which holds a large share of the chip manufacturing equipment market. the japanese government is looking ahead to the future of transport where self-driving vehicles will have their own get airspace to make deliveries. prime minister kishida fumio discussed an initiative with several ministers. kishida says work on the projects will begin in fiscal 2024. the industry minister is considering a plan to make a 100 kilometer dedicated lane for self-driving trucks on a highway in central japan.

i he says his ministry is planning a 150-kilometer air corridor over central tokyo. drones will fly in the airspace to make deliveries and also do maintenance work on power lines. and the transport ministry has given the green light to highly autonomous vehicles. self-driving technology is divided into five levels. level 4 means vehicles can run without human drivers under certain conditions including speed, the routes, and weather. a revision to the law makes that possible from april 1 let's look at what's happening in the week ahead. we start off with japan's closely watched quarterly survey on businesses. the bank of japan will release its survey on monday. business confidence among

manufacturers worsened for the fourth consecutive quarter in december. due to the slowing global economy and lower demand for semiconductors. the mood for large non-manufacturers is forecast to have improved again. this is largely due to the ongoing recovery and accommodation in restaurant services as overseas tourists return. we will have a slew of inflation data out next week across asia. the numbers for indonesia and turkey are released on monday. south korea has its number out on tuesday, and the philippines on wednesday. the central bank in southeast asia's largest country in indonesia paused its tightening last month after its key rate reached its highest in three years. but inflation is still well above its target due to persistently high food prices.

turkey's sky high inflation has been coming down from its peak of more than 85% in october. the latest figure in february was over 55% year on year. but inflation may come down more slowly than expected. that is after the central bank cut its rate to help the economy falling with the devastating earthquake in february. we will see how wages in japan are doing on friday. the real cash earnings of workers fell in january at the fastest pace in nearly nine years. higher inflation was to blame, but it is also pushing major companies to raise wages during annual spring negotiations between labor and management. investors and analysts will also be watching u.s. employment data that same day. employers added fewer jobs in february, but the number was still stronger than expected. a still hot labor market in the u.s. was behund the federal

reserve's decision last week. officials remain focused on inflation and opted for a quarter percentage point rate hike despite lingering uncertainty among the banking sector. jupen will soon have a new central bank governor for the first time in ten years. the term of the current chief expires april 8th. ueda then takes the helm for a five-year term. he's expected to continue the current easing monetary policy for the time being. however, he's faced with a daunting task. he'll have to deal with the side effects of a decade of extraordinary easing and make revisions to the policy at some point. all right, let's have a look at the markets.

from the news line biz team in tokyo, i'm gene o■■÷óróxór[r 'r

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